Warning over delays in approving new drugs for patients

The approval of medicines takes an average of 792 days in Ireland compared with 322 in other EU countriesGETTY IMAGES

Irish patients are waiting more than twice as long for new drugs as the rest of western Europe, the body for Irish pharmaceutical research has said.

The Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) assessed the amount of time it took for 18 medicines to be made available in Ireland compared with 14 other EU countries. Researchers analysed the dates on which the products were approved in the 14 other countries and found it took an average of 322 days. In Ireland it took an average of 792 days.

At its annual conference in Dublin yesterday the IPHA called for the government and the industry to commit themselves to delivering new treatments in a more timely manner. Aidan Lynch, president of the association, said the industry wanted…

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